I am from Vilnius, Lithuania. My background consists of a variety of endeavours: I was pursuing a career in professional figure skating for most of my teenage years, studied TV production and cinema in London and Prague and learned Persian in a language institute in Tehran. Since my late teens I started traveling by hitch-hiking. Summer trips around Europe soon evolved into a full-time nomadic lifestyle with travel routes criss-crossing Africa, the Middle East, India and South East Asia. Being introduced to Magnum Photos by a friend and seeing Satellites by Jonas Bendiksen for the first time gave me a powerful impulse to dedicate my life to photography. Over a decade of traveling, I formed a special relationship with North Africa and the Middle East and particularly Iran, where I spent almost two years of my life. As a photographer I am drawn towards communities and social issues. My work speaks about human condition, rebellion, and pride, and aims to demystify the unknown. In my pictures I seek to portray people in a humble and dignified way. I am currently based in my hometown of Vilnius where I freelance as a photojournalist and fixer for foreign publications and TV crews.
